The Notre Dame Fighting Irish can see the finish line. It’s been a fantastic year for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are one of three undefeated teams left in the country, and they will be in the College Football Playoff with just two more wins. This isn’t a team that has been doing it with smoke and mirrors like the 2012 team either. Notre Dame has won most of their games by convincing margins, and they have the best win in the country too. Their penultimate test will be at Yankee Stadium this week, when they face the best Syracuse Orange team we have seen in almost 15 years.
This contest in Week 12 will take place on Saturday, November 17, 2018 at 2:30 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Syracuse +9.5
Notre Dame -9.5
Total Check Back Later
Odds Analysis
There has yet to be any movement on the NCAAF betting line in this game. Notre Dame opened up as a 9.5-point favorite per the oddsmakers, and the line has stayed right there since it came out on Sunday evening. The CFB betting total will be released on Monday evening.
Player to Watch
One of the most important things to follow is the health of Ian Book. The offense took things to another level once Brian Kelly made the switch from Brandon Wimbush to Book. Notre Dame had put up 24, 24, and 22 points in the three games that Wimbush had started at the beginning of the year, but Book made them far more prolific. The offense has averaged 38.8 PPG in his six starts, and he has completed a whopping 74.5 percent of his passes on the year.
Book sat out of last week’s win over Florida State due to some injured ribs in the victory over Northwestern. He was officially scratched later in the week, yet the Irish didn’t have many problems with the Seminoles. However, they need him this week against a Syracuse offense that can score in bunches. Book is currently listed as probable.
Matchup to Watch
Dino Babers has now done this at three straight programs. Babers spends the first year at a school tearing things down and rebuilding with his guys in his very up-tempo offense. The next year is the learning curve year where things slowly start to come together, and then the third year is where Babers’ teams really explode.
Syracuse continues to light up scoreboards every time they take the field. The Orange have dropped at least 40 points in each of their last three games, beating North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest, and Duke in successive weeks. Eric Dungey has finally been able to stay healthy, and that has kept the offense from going off the rails.
The Irish have one of the best defenses in the country, but they have only played one opponent that goes at this kind of pace. That was Wake Forest, and the Demon Deacons didn’t have the experience or the personnel to make it work. Syracuse can, and they will need to be on their toes.
Live Betting Preview
For as great of a story as Syracuse has been, the Orange are probably overrated. Their advanced numbers aren’t that good, and the Orange come into this game as the 39th best team in the country according to S&P+. With that in mind, I wouldn’t wait for Notre Dame to potentially expose them. Provided Book receives the all clear, take Notre Dame to cover in this one. He has been a huge difference maker, and the offense has clicked with him under center. If he has a late setback and Wimbush has to start in his stead though, the Irish will be on upset alert so change tack.
College Football Odds: Notre Dame 41, Syracuse 24
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